The story behind alumnus Jay Earle’s alternate Senators 25th anniversary logo
Posted on Tuesday, July 14th, 2015
We chatted with Graphic Design alum Jay Earle to learn more about his alternate version for the Sens 25th anniversary logo! Jay is Creative Director for Wolfworks Communications, a local marketing firm…and yes, he’s a Sens fan! You can see Jay’s version on the left, and the official Senators design on the right.
What made you decide to make your own logo? What are you hoping the Sens will do with it?
I saw how much bad press it was getting in the media, and how upset the fans were, so I decided to step in. My expertise is in branding, and I’m a huge Sens fan, so I truly believed I had a good feel of what the fans were looking for, and just went for it. And the response has been incredible so far. Many of the fans, including myself are really hoping they use it as the official logo.
What do you think of the original? Do you think Ottawans will grow to love it in time for 2017?
From what I’ve seen and heard so far, mixed with my experience in these types of things, I really find it hard to imagine the “official” version of the logo growing on the vast majority of fans. It just missed the mark a little too much for them to fully embrace it unfortunately. And that was ultimately the inspiration for my version of it. I wanted to provide something that Sens fans could be proud of. There are a few aspects to the Sens brand that don’t need to be mutually exclusive. I tried to combine the heritage “O” look with the roman guard theme that the organization is currently invested in, but in one cohesive unit that could do well if marketed on merchandise, or used as a crest/patch for their jerseys.
Are you a Sens fan? Is this something you truly care about?
Yes Indeed! A long time fan. I understood why the fans were upset, because I am too. And I wanted to step in and help both sides. Fans AND organization.
Did you complete any projects like this during your time as a student?
I most definitely did. We did all sorts of branding-related projects which prepared me for these kinds of things down the road. I can really credit a lot of my professors for helping give me the tools and confidence to jump into the professional world, and do things, like, oh I dunno, make cool-looking Ottawa Senators graphics for example.
Visit wolfworks.ca to see more of Jay’s handywork! Congratulations Jay, and fingers crossed that the Senators decide to follow up with you about your design!
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